Music-leaf turner.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS E. Bllll AND ESTELLA BEE, F WEST SOLVAY, NEW YORK.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed largest 29, l. Serial No. 332,495.

To @El whom it may concern:

Bo it known that we, Aoons'rus lil. Bien and EsTELLA Bun, of 1Vliest Solvay, in the count),r oi' Onondaga, in the State oi New Yorkl have jointly invented new and useful Improvements in Music -lieai '.lurners, of which the following, taken in eiiinneotion with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in loai-turners, and is espeeiallysdapted ior supporting and turning the leaves of sheet inusio.

My main object is to simplify and quicken the operation of turning the leaves, one at a time, without in anyT wav disarranging, or displacing the other leaves. ln other words, l have sought to provide a simple and praetioa] selilretraeting manual by whieh the leal"- turuing arm may be thrown from one position to the other b v a single stroke of the iinger similar to that re uired tor operating the key of a piano or similar musiesl instrumentJ and at the same time to leave the arms free to he rocked by hand irrespective of their operating manuals.

A further object is to provide adjustable fingers for engaging in the lower and upper ends of the fold or junction of the musicsheets so es to iirmly h'old a single sheet or a plurality of sheets with the same degree of efficiency Another object is to provide for the iurther adjustment of one of said lingers to permit the leaves or book to be resdilT withmr drawn from its supporting frame and leafturning arms.

Other more specific objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure i is a front elevation of my improved leaf-turner. Fig, 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2**2, Fig. l. Figs. 3 and are enlarged sectional views taken respeotively on lines and 4 4, Fig. l.

A skeleton. Jframe -iof wood or other suitable material is adapted to he supported in the usual manner upon the ordinaryT le airest of the musical instrumentJ and is provided with e bottom rail having a forwardly projecting ledge 2 upon which the lower edge of the music-sheets are adapted to rest, This frame is provided with a central vertical bar projecting some distance below the bottorn rail or ledge 2, and upon this lower projecting end is mounted a hollow head or i housing #-3- for receiving and supporting a pair of rock-shafts 4' end separate pairs of self-retreating plnngers or manuals '5-, one pair for eax-h oi' the rook-shafts 4. These roel -sliaits extend entirely through the housing or head -3- from top to hotsides, the upper ends being provided with laterally projeoting arms -6- adapted to swing in a substantially horizontal plane just above the ledge Q -F said roek-shafts being located equidistant from end at opposite sides oi the central upright har at the longitudinal conter of the frame 1-.

The arms #of are adapted to receive and support the leaves which are to be turned, and preferably consist of wires oi comparatively small gege bent into the form oi a rectangular frame except that a portion of the lower horizontal wire of eac-h arm is looped upwardly some distance above the upper horizontal bar, and is oilset forwardly in a plane a slight distance from the remaining portions of the arm to form a seat end retaining linger for the musisheet, said loop or retaining linger being designated by the numeral -'7-. v

The lower ends of the rook-shafts -4- projieet some distance below the bottom of the housing --3- and are provided with suitable hand-pieces, sueh as knobs -8-, adapted `tobe engaged by the operator to rook the shafts independentlj;r to throwthe arms -6- and music-sheet whichV may be engaged therewith on opposite sides ot the swinging axis of said arms, or in other words, to turn the leaves from one side to the other. These rook-shafts are held a p einst axial movement by their respective mobs 8 and suitable collars -9- which engage opposite sides of the head or housing 3---. As a further means for operating the arm '6- to turn the leaves more expeditiously, l provide eaoh shaft with an offset or crankarm ---l0^ having opposite working fases l l, each adapted to be engaged by one of its o erating plungers #-5-7 which are lo: Cate at opposite sides of the axis of the roekshaft1 and are ads. ited to move trensversel5T thereto in the path of the movement of the offset or crank-arm -l 0-.

The plungers --5--- are guided in suitable hearings #123, and project outwardly some distance through the iront side of the housing -3-, the outer ends being provided with linger-keys #13, While their inner tom and are journaled in the upper and lower IOO IIC

ends are threaded and provided with ballshape nuts --14 whioh 'engage the rear` ends ol the bearings I2---- to limit the eutward moven'lent ell the plungers which is el'- l'eeted by suitable retraeting springs ----|5- 'l'he ballsurl'aees ol the nuts ll-m eonstitute abutments against whieh the (frank-arms l0-- rest when the arms Y -ti are shil'ted l'rom one position or the other; that is, the operating lares ]lswing alternately into and out ol' engagement with the abutments 14 rocked in reverse direetions.

A'lt is now elear that by depressing one of the plungers whieh majy be engaged by the erank-arm ---l(')--, the roelC-shal't to whieh said (frank-arm is seeured will be rotated and as the leaf-supporting arms ---ti-NV are its leaf-turning arm ---G--- positively shifted through )uaetieally a quarter ol.I a revolution,

while the momentum imparted to said roekt shaft and arm will earr)7 the latter through the remainder of its movement, or substantially another quarter of its movement, until i the opposite working laee --1]-- of the eam 10-- encounters the other operating member or ilunger --5-, the reverse aetion of the leall pression of the last named plunger. Earth. leaf-turner is, therefore, associated with two operating manuals, meh aeting separatel)Y upon the eranli-arm --lU-- to reverse the aetion of the leaf-turner7 and at the same time, eaeh leaf-turner may be aetuated by its operating member -8-- irrespective ell the manuals -5---- or the arm G- may be thrown from one extreme position to the other by direet engagement of the hand therewith.

Mounted upon the longitudinal Center of the upper portion of the frame -1-- is a leafholding finger ----l.6-, which is pivoted upon and adjustable longitndinallyv of a fixed bolt or stud. --1 7` on the upper portion of the frame 1-, the axial adjustment serving to permit the insertion of a greater or less number of sheets between the finger and frame,y While the rotary or lateral adjustment permits said finger to be thrown out of engagement with the sheet to allow the latter to be more readily removed when desired. This linger is spring-pressed outwardly against an adjustable abuti'nent er nut -18- b v means of a spring 1Q-1 so that in adjusting the linger fordifferentnumbersof sheets itis simplvnee- E-turner being aeeomplished by the de-` essarlvto adjust the nut h v hand. A butsomewhatlongerlinger-ZU ismounted upon a studV 2lat the lower longitudinal renter ofthe frame A--lV and vis adjustable axiallyr of said stud in a manner similar lo that described for the adjustnlentolthe linger- 1() or b v means of a nut lu operation7 the leaves to be turned are inserted in the arms-{im-whieh are disposed in their extreme position at one side before the playing is beguny and when it is desired to turn the sheet the operator quieldv depresses the key l }---Y of the plunger whieh is engaged with the crank-arm --IU- whereupon the arm ---ti--- is instantlyY thrown or turned to its otherextreme position read;Y to be returned by the depression of the eempanion plunger, oril' a slower turning movement desired` it ma)T be aeeomplished by turning the knobs --N--- whieh operate the roekshafts 4-- indel)endentljy of the manuals f5 that lelaim is:

1. In a leaf turner a easing having a supporting raek extending tlwrefrom, a roel shaft mounted for rotation in said easing and with a leaf supporting deviee extending laterall)r from one end and adapted to rest against said raek, said shaft having a laterall)Y extending erank arm within said easing and provided with proeesses on its opposite fares, and spring aetuated members having rounded terminals adapted to alteruatelltv engage with the processes on said erank arm, to eause the alternate operation of said shaft and the leaf support earried thereby.

2. In a leaf turner, a easing, a roek-slnilt mounted for movement through said easing with a turning knob at one end and a leaf supporting device at the other end, a laterallyv extending Crank arm eonneeted to said shaft within the easing, and spring actuated manuals carried by said easing and adapted to alternately engage said laterally7 extending erank arm to canse the action of said leaf turning device.

similar,

ln witness whereof we have hereunto set 100 our hands this 25th day of August7 100G.

AUGUSTUS E. BEN. ECT ELLA BE l l. fi tnesses:

M, M. Norr, llowAao P. DENIsoN. 

